TOUCH of glass
SMART SOMMELIER
French sommelier and designer Bruno Quenioux was recently in Hong Kong to officially launch Baccarat's latest collection of wine glasses that are claimed to 'reveal the complexity, richness and subtlety of wine better than any other glass yet created'.
That's because the glass moves away from the paradigm of the classic wine glass shape and has a wider, flatter bottom and a short chimney at the top. The wider base allows the wine to be swirled without washing upwards and depositing alcohol on the inner wall of the glass, preventing the wine's subtle aromas from being burned off by sudden oxidation. As a result, the wine's aroma and taste are subtle.
In a wine tasting with the media, the wine bouquet in the classic glass was very aggressive, but the same wine in a Baccarat glass was delicate and refined, while the taste seemed rounder and softer.
Quenioux says the chimney is critical. 'Without it, you cannot get into the depth of the wines.' After nine months of trial and error in designing and creating the glasses, he and Baccarat reached his goal of 'revealing the subtlety of the terroir by the Baccarat glass'.
While some wine glasses are designed for specific grape varietals, the Baccarat glasses are simplified for wine lovers, with ones for reds, whites, Champagnes and tumblers for either water or aperitifs. The red, white and Champagne glasses are HK$900 each; tumblers are HK$600.
Baccarat boutiques are located in The Peninsula
